Hinge structure



W. E. GOEBEL HINGE STRUCTURE Oct; l, 1957 Filed March 9. 1954 INVENTOR.

WALTER E. GOEBL HIS ATTORNEY United States Patent vOffice 2,307,829Patented Oct. 1, 1957 2,807,829 HINGE STRUCTURE Walter Ernst Goebel,Norwalk, Conn., assigner to American Radiator and Standard SanitaryCorporation, Pittsburgh, Pa., a corporation of Delaware ApplicationMarch 9, 1954, Serial No. 415,057 2 Claims. (Cl. 16163) This inventionrelates to a new and novel hinge structure and more particularly to acabinet hinge structure that is particularly adapted to be used whenthere are abutting cabinet structures.

An object of this invention is to provide a new and novel hingestructure that permits the hinge axis to move away from the stationarymember simultaneously with rotation of the movable member about thepivotal axis of the hinge so that the pivoted closure member can have awide opening movement.

Another object of this invention is to provide a hinge structure thathas an interchangeable leaf member which permits the hinge to beassembled for either clockwise or counter-clockwise movement of themovable member.

Another object of this invention is to provide a hinge structure that issimple and economical to manufacture, sturdy in construction, and easilyassembled.

Other objects and advantages of this invention will become apparent fromthe following description and claims which form a part of thisspecication.

In the accompanying drawing to be taken as part of the specification,there is fully and clearly illustrated one preferred embodiment of thisinvention in which drawing:

Figure 1 is a fragmentary plan view in section ofa pair of substantiallyabutting cabinet structures, one of the structures having its doormember in section and the horizontal portion of the shelf member removedand showing the hinge structure in closed position,

Fig. 2 is a view in section taken along the line 2 2 of Fig. 1 andshowing portions of the hinge structure in sections, f

Fig. 3 is a detail view in section on the line 3-3 of Fig. 4 and showingthe supporting arm positioned in and supported by the guide member,

Fig. 4 is a planview similar to Fig. 1, but showing the hinge structurein open or expanded position, and

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary view in elevation of the door member and cabinetstructure showing the hinge structure in open position as in Fig. 4.

Referring to the drawing by numerals of reference, there is shown a pairof cabinet structures 1, 1 having vertical side walls 2 and verticalfront wall portions 3. The vertical front portions 3 are shown as beingbent from the vertical side walls 2, but could be constructed asindependent portions of the cabinet `structure 1. Se-

cured to the side walls 2 andthe wall portions 3 are shelf or horizontalliner members 4 having vertical flanges 5. The shelf members 4 havevertical flanges 5 with horizontal slots 6 therein. The front wallportions 3 have horizontalslots 6,al therein. The cabinet structures mayhave their adjacent side walls 2 abutting each other land have the frontwall portions 3 parallel to each other and on the same vertical plane.Positioned in front of and substantially closing the openings in thefront wall portions 3 garejdoor or movable members 8 and 8a, each havingafront portion 9 and a rear portion 1t). Each rear portion 10 has ahorizontal slotted portion 10iL and a surrounding indented edge orsidewall portion 11, the front portion 9 having a surrounding inbentflanged edge orsidewall portion 12. The front portion 9 is secured tothe rear portion 10 by means of the flanged por-tion 12 being positionedin the indented portion 11 thereby forming the integral door member 8,with a surrounding side wall13.

A guide and supporting member or block 14 having flat securing portions15 and 16 lying in a single plane and a recessed channel portion 17positioned therebetween, is secured to the underside of the horizontalshelf member 4 by means of a plurality of rivets 18. The rivets 1S passthrough a plurality of apertures 19 in the guide member securingportions 15 and 16 and through aligned apertures in the horizontal shelfmember 4. It is to be understood that the guide member securing'portions 15 and 16 may be secured to the horizontal shelf 4 by anyconventional securing means, such as by spotwelding, for example.

The door or movable member 8 and also the door member 8a is pivotallysecured to the front of its cabinet structure 1 in overlying relation toits opening in the front Wall portion 3 by means of a plurality ofvertically alined hinge structures 2t). Although the detailedconstruction of only one hinge structure is shown in this disclosure, itis to be understood that any number of hinge structures may be used tosecure the door members to their cabinet structures. The hinge structure20 has a pair of leaf member 21 and 22. The leaf member 21 has asupporting portion 23 and a ylaterally extending arm 24. The supportingportion 23 is supported by andk reciprocally movable in the Irecessedchannel portion 17 of the guide member 14 as clearly shown in Fig. 3.The yarm' surface 26. Portions of the horizontal surface26 adja-A centto the intersection of the side edge portions 29. and 30 and the rearedge portion 2S are bent upward in relation to the horizontal surfaceportion 26 `and form stop or abutment members 32 and 33. A pair ofactuator apertures 34 and 35 extend through the horizontal surface 26adjacent to the abutment members 32 and 33, respectively, and arepositioned along a longitudinal axis of the horizontal surface portion26. A pair of pivot pin apertures 36 and 37 extend through thehorizontal surface 26 at a position inward of said actuator apertures 34and 35 and on the longitudinal axis of the horizontal surface 26. Theleaf member 22 is secured to the inner surface of the rear door portion10 with the horizontal surface 26 parallel to and aligned with the loweredge of the slot 108 by means of rivets 37'a or any other conventionalsecuring means. The arm portion 24 of the leaf member 21 is positionedin overlying parallel relation with the horizontal surface 26, and thepivot pin aperture 25 is aligned with the pivot pin aperture 36 in theleaf member 22. A pivot pin 38 extends through the aligned apertures 25and 36 and pivotally or rotatably secures the door member 8 to theIcabinet structure 1. A hook-shaped actuator member or push rod 39comprises an elongated arm portion 40 and a relatively shorter armportion 41 with a curvedk portions 40 and 41 have rounded end portionswith securing apertures 43 and 44 respectively therethrough. Theactuator member 39 is positioned with the larm portion 40 parallel andadjacent to the underside of the securing portion 16 of the guide member14. The aperture 43 is aligned with an aperture 44a in the supporting Ymember securing portion 16 and a pivot pin 45 extends through thealigned apertures 43 and 44a and pivotally or rotatably secures theactuator member 39 tothe guide member 14. The arm portion 41B extendsthrough the slots 6 and 6a in the flange 5 and the wall portion 3,

respectively. The other arm portion 41 is positioned adjacent to andparallel with the underside of the horizontal surface 2,5, and theaperture 44 is aligned with the aperture 34 in the leaf member 22 toreceive a pivot pin 46 securing the other arm 41 to the leaf member 22.

The door member 8a is pivotally supported in the` same manner asdescribed for door member 8, but certain parts of the hinge structureare reversed, the members 21 and 39 being pivoted to or by pins in theapertures 37 and 35, respectively, as will be apparent and is also laterdescribed.

Operation When the door member 8 is in the closed position and the hingemember 20 is assembled and secured as heretofore described, thesupporting portion 23 of the leaf 21 extends through the slot 10FL inthe rear door portion 10 and through the slots 6 and 6a in the flange 5and the frontwall portion 3, respectively. The supporting portion 23extends through and is supported in the guide member channel portion 17and is reciprocally movable therein upon opening and closing of the doormember 8. When the door member 8 is rotated from a closed position toanopen position, the door pivots in a counterclockwise direction aroundthe pivot pin 3S so that the verticalfside Wall 13` tends to rotatetoward the front wall portion 3. In a conventional hinge structure witha hidden` or offset hinge point or axis, it would be necessary toposition the door a sufficient distance from the front` wall portion sothat the door side wall 13'will not bind against the front portion 3. Inthe hinge structure shown in this disclosure, the actuator rod 39 limitsthe inward movement of and holds the door side wall 13 away from thefrontwall portion 3. When the door is rotated counter-clockwise aboutthe pivot pin 38, the actuator member 39` causes the door member 8 tomove away from the front wall portion 3. The pivot pin 38, instead ofremaining stationary as in conventional hinge structures, moves awayfrom the front portion of the cabinet structure a distance sufficient topermit the door membertorotate and open widely, to say, 155 degrees ofmovement, without the vertical side wall portion 13 of the door member 8binding against the front of the cabinet structure. As the door memberis rotated toward an opening position, the pivotal point, signified byinitial position of the pivot pin 38 moves away from the cabinetstructure. The movement of the pivotal point or axis is due to thearcuate swing of the actuator member 39 restraining or causing thesupporting leaf member portion 23 to move reciprocally outward in theguide portion 17 of the guide member 14 and continue, as a bodily movingpivot or axis, to support the door structure. Thus, the new and novelhinge structure herein shown and described permits the door member 8 tobe positioned in closed position closely adjacent to the front ofthecabinet structure and further does not have the disadvantages of alimited yopening movement.

As shown in Fig. 4, the door member will, upon rotation a given numberof degrees, be stopped from further rotation by the abutmentk member 32.Thus, as the door member rotates about the pivot pin 3S, the abutmentmember 32 rotates toward the arm 24 of the leaf 21. As the predeterminedangle of opening is reached, thestop member 32 is in contact with anedge of the arm 24 which prevents further opening movement of the doormember. Itshould be noted that degrees of opening movement of the doormember 8 may be varied by the position of the stop member 32. This typeof stop means has a particular adaptation orI use when cabinetstructures are positioned adjacent to each other as shown in Figs. 1 and4, and an angle of limitation isrequired, so that upon complete openingof one of the` door members, theA front door portion 9 will not strikethe front portion of the other door member and possibly damage the`same.`

Another feature of this invention is the interchangeal ability of theleaf member 22. As shown in Fig. 1, the arm portion 24 is secured to theleaf member 22 by means of the pivot pin 38 passing through the aperture25` in the arm portion 24 and the aperture 36 in the leaf member 22.However, upon reversal of the direction of the arm 24, which may beaccomplished by the opposite insertion of the supporting portion 23 inthe channel portion 17, the aperture 25 in the arm portion may bealigned with the other pivot pin aperture 37 in the leaf member 22. Thethrust or actuator member 39 would also be reversed so that its aperture43 would underlie the supporting member aperture 45*L and be pivoted onthe repositioned pin 45, the arm end portion 41 being pivoted by the pin46 passing through the apertures 44 and 35. ln this position of theparts, the arm 24 will engage the stop member 33 to` limit clockwise`opening movement of the door member 8@ at substantially 155 degrees ofmovement. In this position, the hinge would be operable to open in in aclockwise direction instead of a counter-clo"l:\vise direction as shownin the left hand assembly in Fig. l. It is to be understood thatalthough only one embodiment and use of this hinge assembly has beendescribed, this is not to be taken as a limitation, as the use of thishinge member is not confined to cabinet structures, but may be usedwherever a hinge structure of this type would be required.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed and desired to besecured by LettersPatent of the United States is:

1. A hinge structure comprising a guide member having an open-endedchannel extending across said member, a leaf member having an elongatedsupporting portion reciprocally tting in said channel, the sides of saidchannel holding said supporting portion against lateral movement, oneend of said supporting portion projecting from said channel and having alaterally extending arm, a second leaf member having a flat body portionlying parallel to and against said arm, a pivot pin extending throughthe free end of said arm and through said body portion to pivotallyconnect said leaf members together, an actuator member pivotallyconnected solely to said guide member and to said body portion, a pivotpin connecting one end Iof said actuator member to said guide member,and a pivot pin connecting` the other end of said actuator member tosaid body portion.

2. A hinge structure comprising a guide member having an open-endedchannel extending across said member, a leaf member having an elongatedsupporting portion reciprocally fitting in said channel, the sides ofsaid channel holding said supporting portion against lateral movement,one end of said supporting portion projecting from said channel andhaving a laterally extending arm, at second leaf member having a hatbody portion lying parallel to and against said arm, said body portionhaving two circular apertures therethrough adjacent one end thereof, apivot pin extending through the free end of said arm and through one ofsaid circular apertures to pivotally connect said leaf members together,an actuator member pivotally connected solely to said guide member andto said body portion, a pivot pin connecting one end of said actuatormember to said guide member, and a pivot pin extending through the otherend of said actuator member and through the other of said circularapertures.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,335,400 Soss Mar. 30, 1920 1,853,595 Asbury Apr.` 12, 1932 2,031,526Den-ruth Feb. 18, 1936 2,373,178 Economides Apr. .10, 1945 2,554,083Berg May 22, 1951 2,578,610 Stone Dec. 11, 1951 FOREIGN PATENTS 424,120Germany Ian. 18, 1926

